


Twisted Reflection

by ShadowoftheLamp



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: 10 Minutes to Doom, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode Related, Gen, Zimvoid Arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:14:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27197665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowoftheLamp/pseuds/ShadowoftheLamp
Summary: Zib meets the Dib from 10 Minutes to Doom- or at least a version where Zim's body died but the Pak is still attached to him.It does not go particularly well.
Comments: 18
Kudos: 26





	Twisted Reflection

**Author's Note:**

> I KNOW I STILL HAVE WORK TO DO ON TD BUT I'M REALLY BURNT OUT BY MY CLASS STUFF FOR LONGFIC, ALRIGHT.... expect updates at some point, rest assured that I still haven't dropped it though because one of the most fun parts is still to come. I'm just keeping myself sane by letting myself do these little short things.
> 
> Anyway. This was inspired by some tags on [this post.](https://shadowofthelamp.tumblr.com/post/632908197707055104/i-love-10-minutes-to-doom-dib-and-zib-for-equal)

He had come in through a portal, like all the other Zims. But he _wasn’t_ a Zim, and Zib had hopped off his throne to examine this turn of events closer after dismissing Number Two.

“You’re weak.” Zib quirked up an eyebrow. Dib’s eye twitched.

“Weak? You’re kidding. I’m not the one who- **get that thing off of your** _ **filthy**_ **head, it doesn’t belong to you!!** ”

“No. I like it there. It’s useful.” Arms crossed with green fingers on the end, nails tapping against a worn-ragged coat. “You _really_ can’t get him under control? I killed Zim weeks before putting the Pak on, and managed to fight what was left off within a day.” He leaned forward. “You’re a pathetic excuse for an alternate self.”

“ _You_ had a choice,” Dib said through gritted teeth, resisting the urge to activate the weapons and show how ‘weak’ he really was. He was roaring to skewer that _thing_ through for the mockery it was making of irken anatomy! “You can’t _not_ see how it’s- ghh-” One of the blasters was pointing directly at the Zim-Dib now, ah, how many seconds had he lost, only two, (how was it managing to maintain control, was he just weak, were _they_ weak, how could it exist when he was tearing himself and Dib and Zim apart at the seams _every second-_ ) and Zib just snapped his fingers and a shield bloomed from behind his back to cover his entire body. Reluctantly, the blaster returned to its proper place. 

“I wouldn’t try and threaten me. I have a lot more control over mine than you seem to over yours.”

**“Yes, yes, well, Zim doesn’t like you.”**

“The feeling is mutual.”

“You’re an **ab-b-bomination!** ” The word stuttered in Dib’s mouth, tasting like metal. “ **A patchwork disgrace, tainting the beauty of the irken form by mutating it with your** _ **disgusting**_ **human body!** You were _actually_ crazy enough to do it on _purpose?_ ”

That got a laugh, and Zib leaned forward, legs planted together in a militaristic stance like back on Devastis back in training back when he was an Elite. Did his hair just twitch?

_“I'm_ the disgrace? You’re a joke! A Dib that can’t subdue his Zim, and a Zim who can’t manage to just take over that joke of a Dib as a new host. _I_ took what I wanted, _you’re_ a cosmic fluke. At least most Dibs who don’t win at least don’t _lose_ like this.” 

“At least _I_ know I messed up!” Dib shot back. “Look at you! You’re green, you lost your nose and ears, your hair moves like antennae.” He laughed bitterly. “At least I know I’m going to die tied to a lunatic **as a fool child who doesn’t know how to keep his big head out of things that don’t concern him!** At least I’ll still have some of myself left. You? You’re not Dib anymore, you’re not even _human!_ ”

“A few altered traits to gain better compatibility with the Pak and control the tech-” he started, but Dib barreled forward.

“At least I still have moments where I’m myself! At least I’m not an amalgam that isn’t Zim or Dib, isn’t anything but **an empty shell who thinks it’s something that it isn’t.”** The Pak legs popped out, and Dib loomed over Zib, who was glaring at him and inching a gun out of his own Pak. **“Back on Vort, they did tests where they hybridized irken DNA and blank, weaponless Paks with species planned for conquest to test obedience to the Control Brains and irken masters. Most never survived, but of those that did, the Irken DNA was corrosive- to our very** _ **blood**_ **, we are bred to conquer. Something as pathetic as a human would never stand a chance.”**

Dib’s eyes were blank as his head lolled on his neck. **“You may think you’ve had your revenge, but one day, you will wake up and what is left of your filthy Dibness will be gone, and you will be Zim.”** A grin stretched across his face- too far, as if his lips and cheeks were made of rubber and his mouth was only teeth. **“Irkens believe in death before weakness, but somewhere deep in the coding of your Pak, your Zim is waiting, and** _ **you will die.**_ **”**

Dib cackled, arms outstretched and back arched to thrust the Pak forward, and Zib shot a stunning laser directly to his head. He crumpled into a heap of meat and bones and sweat and fabric, the Pak flashing pink. Zib reached out for it and caught sight of his own thin fingers and the way the pointed nails curved, just the slightest bit. 

He tossed the body in the incinerator before it woke up. He didn’t want to deal with that drivel. He had work to do.

**Author's Note:**

> It was fun to make them echo and bounce off each other while still being different. Comments and kudos appreciated!


End file.
